Your pension, you’ve worked hard for it so don’t lose it

The days of people working their whole career for just one employer are almost a thing of the past and most people will now work for several different employers during their working lives. Unfortunately Covid-19 may also mean, for a variety of reasons, many people could find themselves looking for another job as some businesses look to restructure coming out of lockdown. With the introduction of auto enrolment you are automatically put in to your new employer’s pension scheme so as a result can often end up with several pension pots of varying sizes, types and with different providers. Interestingly, another aspect to this is that historically many people consider setting up their own businesses following a major financial or economic downturn.

With the introduction of auto enrolment, if someone was to move employers, you are automatically put in to your new employer’s pension scheme so as a result can often end up with several pension pots of varying sizes, types and with different providers which can be confusing. If someone was to set up their own business of course they need to consider their pension arrangements themselves and start contributing to another pension.

So how do you know what to do with these different pots when you’re looking to retire? You could try and trace all your pensions yourself by using the government’s pension tracing service or ask the help of a financial adviser.

If you’re not fully aware of the options you have available it can be difficult to know exactly what to do, so it’s not something that you should rush into. Care is required when deciding upon your retirement options as the choices you make can have an impact for the rest of your life, so for many people professional and personalised advice can be the key to ensuring that you make a decision from a fully informed position. It’s also important to be clear about what your retirement spending plans are, as without care your money may not last as long as you need it to.

Since the introduction of the so called ‘Pension Freedoms’ in April 2015, a pension can be more flexible than it was previously, by offering you greater access to your funds as and when required. You may also be restricted, with some schemes, to whom you could leave the funds to if you die before retirement. Conversely many older style arrangements may retain valuable benefits, but might not have not been updated since the new rules came in so may not benefit from the flexibility noted earlier. Balancing these decisions is not easy so we would recommend you should seek professional advice from a fully qualified and regulated adviser to ensure that all your options are maximised.

I can discuss and provide personalised advice on all aspects of pension planning both pre and post retirement. I can also now do this remotely by video as well as face to face with the necessary social distancing precautions in place.